Runnig Plickers Essay

The term ‘formative assessment’ is used to describe the activities and processes used by teachers and learners to gather information that informs future teaching and learning. Assessment becomes formative if the information gathered is used as feedback to adapt and modify teaching and learning (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p.2). There are a variety of different methods and techniques that can be used by teachers and learners that can contribute to enhancing learner progress. These include

Formative assessment, or assessment for learning as it is often called, is the assessment that

A formative assessment provides informal feedback and information during the teaching process. This assessment measures student progress and performance thus allowing further improvement and development. It can also assess the teacher’s progress as an instructor, enabling the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods.

Coffey, J. E., Hammer, D., Levin, D. E & Grant, T. (2011). The Missing Disciplinary Substance of Formative Assessment. Journal of research in science teaching. 48 (10) PP. 1109–1136 (2011) College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 2 Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 3 St. Paul School, Baltimore, Maryland Received 17 April 2011; Accepted 5 August 2011. Retrieved from file:///Users/EleanorNewbold/Downloads/Coffey_et_al-2011-Journal_of_Research_in_Science_Teaching.pdf

Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting further student learning and enabling improved student learning through purposeful interaction and providing meaningful feedback. Formative assessment is specifically intended to generate feedback and feed forward on performance to improve, accelerate and enable learning (Sadler, 1998). Formative assessment can and should occur throughout a daily class, through implementation of learning and teaching strategies that lead to both oral and written feedback. The Formative assessment approach is equitable and reliable, producing some significant indicator of student developed understanding that links directly to the syllabus outcomes. This then allows the teacher or other students to respond by trying to

The first thing to learn about formative assessment from the video "Unpacking Formative Assessment" is that it is a complex process, consisting of five major strategies, such as fixing and adjusting learning intentions, questioning, providing regular feedback, activating self, and activating peers. Another major learning form the video related to the formative assessment process is the importance of setting individual goals for students as they tend to think in different directions. Another important thing that I learned is that the majorities of teachers tend to spend their time designing methods and strategies of formative assessment and do not take into consideration the fact the formative assessment is not the most important aspect of learning

Focus questions: Teachers are responsible for creating a set of questions in a specific order which is used as a tool for evaluating understanding checklist. The teacher initiates the questions with simple concepts and steadily move towards a complex level, whereas students give answers when asked individually by the teacher or as a class where visual cue indicates their answer. After this activity students are assessed based on the answer given against the questions.

According to several studies (Hattie & Timperley 2007; Ramaprasad 1983; Sadler 1989), there are three vital criteria of formative assessment and its effectiveness which forms a “model of feedback”. Pupils and teachers must understand that there is a goal they are aiming to achieve and then ask themselves where they are relative to said goal.

Formative assessment is what guides and focuses student learning in the classroom. Depending on which resources a person is reading, formative assessments take on slightly different meanings and interpretations. Fisher and Frey promote formative assessment as continuous assessment practices that students and teachers use to check the students’ level of understanding. Wiliam says formative assessments are those that provide information that will be used to make decisions on the next learning steps. In either case, formative assessments provide both the teacher and student information on the current learning situation as well as provide ideas to enhance the learning experience in the future.

Within my past and current educational course work and field experiences, I have explored and engaged in the use of multiple assessments to gather both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments are for learning, they assess during learning. Summative assessments are of learning they assess what students ability to apply what they have learned. Formative assessments can be described as check points done frequently through a lesson to assess student acquisition of knowledge. Summative assessments assess student ability to apply what they have learned.

Formative assessments have become a huge component of my instruction practice. Our district encourages the use of formative assessments rather than the traditional summative. Keeley (2016) states that much of the weight has been shifted on the side of formative. I have used short surveys or questionnaires

To successfully conduct this type of instructional practices of assessing students daily the teacher or planning committee must plan for these assessments that link with the learning of all students (Fennell, Swartz, McCord, & Wray, 2015). There has been a disconnection of what is expected of the instructional staff in order to accomplish success. According to Fennell, Swartz, McCord, & Wray (2015), there is little to no research of how to conduct formative assessment as an instructional tool and for that reason (Schneider and Meyer’s 2012), believes that teacher are not adequately re-teaching or providing intervention which is hindering students success rates.

Not only can students benefit from formative assessments, but so can teachers. “This type of assessment focuses you more clearly on what your students are learning, rather than simply what you are trying to teach students” (Sweet). These assessments can be helpful to teachers, by providing information about what is needed to be worked on with their students. It also gives a clear understanding of how their students are comprehending the information that is being given. Furthermore, by doing formative assessments, students can get feedback from their teachers. This may be very helpful to students, because they can progress and develop based on the feedback. It is necessary for teachers to take on a leading role in the classroom by, “allowing students to practice, fail, and incorporate your feedback into their performances to make every student better at what he or she does in your classroom” (Sweet). In other words, formative assessments help student practice a concept before the actual test, and it also develops the students’ strengths. Formative assessments are also a good way to ask any necessary questions that help students to obtain a difficult idea. “It gives students the opportunity to seek out assistance in a timely manner and helps you direct students to appropriate resources when necessary” (Sweet). By asking these questions, and by examining their errors on the

Knowing when to use each is imperative to the success of students. It is the teacher's job to decide when to use each of the types and subtypes of assessments. Through the research presented in this literature it has been found that formative assessment is a more helpful form of guiding instruction. Summative assessment is used to see what students know about a particular topic at a particular time, such as a cumulative exam. Students and teachers alike feel the pressure that high stakes testing can bring. Teachers make all the difference when it comes to testing. So, in order for teachers to have classrooms where testing is used efficiently they must work diligently to make sure their assessments are balanced and carefully

Describe and evaluate 2 different formative assessment method activities used to check the learning of either individuals or a group of learners: